Guidelines For Finishing

Most unfinished furniture is delivered to you "machine" sanded. Some stores get carried away and say that this furniture is "ready to finish." The beautifully shaped pieces in furniture kits also have been sanded before delivery But in our estimation, there is no such thing as a piece "ready to finish," if that phrase means, "ready to stain and varnish."

The really good finish that you want on any piece of furniture can be had only through a sound finishing procedure. This includes:

I .J final sanding of the wood prior to the application of any stain;

2.) careful application of the finish coats (enough to build up a sound and durable finish) and light sanding between coats;

3.) allowance of more than ample drying time between all coats;

4.) a final handrubbing to produce that warm and lovely final patina.

if you follow this procedure and put all the elbow grease into the sanding that you should, there is no reason why you can't achieve finishes as good as or better than any you sec in the furniture stores. The bywords to guide you in this work are patience and take your time.

There arc problem areas when working with kits or unfinished furniture.

THIS book is one of the series of Handbooks on industrial subjects being published by the Popular Mechanics Company. Like Popular Mechanics Magazine, and like the other books in this series, it is written so you can understand it. The purpose of Popular Mechanics Handbooks is to supply a growing demand for high-class, up-to-date and accurate text-books, suitable for home study as well as for class use, on all mechanical subjects. The textand illustrations, in each instance, have been prepared expressly for this series by well known experts, and revised by the editor of Popular Mechanics.